Jem Southam at The Levinsky Gallery, University of Plymouth

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A new exhibition at The Levinsky Gallery will show, for the first time, a number of recent studies by one of the UK’s leading landscape photographers, Jem Southam. Birds, Rocks, Rivers, Islands will exhibit new work including After the First Flood, which documents the minutiae of materials brought down by flood water and knotted about the stems of riverbank plants, as well as work from the series The Wintry Heavens, which captures rising winter dawn light on a pool of swans, geese and ducks on the River Exe. Also included will be Gannets and Other Seabirds, a study of key nesting colonies around Britain and Ireland, and the series Roosting Wagtails, which looks up into a plane tree in the centre of Exeter in which large numbers of pied wagtails spend the winter nights.

Through his work, Southam – who has taught at both the University of Exeter and the University of Plymouth for thirty years – explores the social and cultural legacies of post-industrial landscapes in the South West of England and beyond. As well as reflecting on 300 years of natural history studies in Britain, the exhibition will demonstrate the possibilities offered by the medium of photography itself. The works which will feature were produced using a wide variety of cameras and capture systems, and the prints themselves will vary from small framed contact prints to large wall-mounted sheets.

Birds, Rocks, Rivers, Islands has been curated collaboratively between The Box, Plymouth and the Arts Institute, University of Plymouth (formerly Peninsula Arts). The wide-ranging public arts programme of the University of Plymouth plays a pivotal role in building arts and culture in the city and South West region, supporting established, new and emerging artists from around the world. The programme hosts the largest contemporary art gallery in Plymouth, newly named The Levinsky Gallery (formerly the Peninsula Arts Gallery).

Birds, Rocks, Rivers, Islands is at The Levinsky Gallery, University of Plymouth from 18th January – 16th March 2019. A second, linked iteration of the exhibition, entitled Birds, Rocks, Rain, will be shown at Kestle Barton, Manaccan, Cornwall from 13 April – 2 June 2019.